Ben Campbell (New Zealand golfer) explained

Ben Campbell
Birth Date:20 August 1991
Birth Place:Masterton, New Zealand
Residence:Queenstown, New Zealand
Yearpro:2012
Tour:Asian Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia
Extour:Charles Tour
Prowins:4
Asiawins:2
Auswins:1
Otherwins:1
Masters:DNP
Usopen:DNP
Open:CUT: 2022
Pga:DNP

Ben Campbell (born 20 August 1991) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Since 2018, he has played primarily on the Asian Tour where he won the 2023 Hong Kong Open. He has also won the New Zealand PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Early life and amateur career

Campbell had a successful amateur career and was ranked as high as sixth on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In 2010, he won the Carrus Tauranga Open on the Charles Tour, ahead of Michael Hendry in second and Ryan Fox in third.[1]

He was runner-up at the 2010 and 2011 Australian Amateur.[2] [3]

Campbell represented his country twice in the Eisenhower Trophy, the World Amateur Team Championship, finishing fourth individually in 2010 behind future European Tour players Joachim B. Hansen, Alexander Levy and Romain Wattel.[4] In 2012, he represented Asia/Pacific at the Bonallack Trophy in Portugal alongside Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Smith.[5]

Professional career

Campbell turned professional in late 2012 and started playing on the PGA Tour of Australasia. In 2014, he finished 4th at the WA PGA Championship, two strokes behind winner Ryan Lynch, having led the tournament after an opening round of 65. In 2017, he was runner-up at both the New Zealand PGA Championship and the New Zealand Open, before winning the New Zealand PGA Championship in 2018.[6]

He earned an Asian Tour card via the 2018 Qualifying School, having finished tied seventh. In his rookie season, he was runner-up at the AB Bank Bangladesh Open, 3 strokes behind Malcolm Kokocinski. He also tied for 3rd at the Fiji International, an event co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

Campbell was runner-up behind Dimitrios Papadatos at the 2022 Vic Open, an event part of The Open Qualifying Series, which earned him a start at the 2022 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.[7]

In 2023, he was again runner-up at the New Zealand Open before triumphing at the Hong Kong Open, where he birdied the final two holes to beat Cameron Smith by one stroke. He won US$360,000.[8]

In 2024, Campbell took part in a LIV Golf event for the first time, filling in for Cameron Smith on Ripper GC as a substitute after Smith withdrew from the LIV Golf Miami event after the first round.[9]

Professional wins (4)

Asian Tour wins (2)

Legend
International Series (2)
Other Asian Tour (0)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
112 Nov 2023Hong Kong Open−19 (66-64-65-66=261)1 stroke Cameron Smith
27 Jul 2024International Series Morocco−15 (68-70-68-71=277)Playoff John Catlin

Asian Tour playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Charles Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament2022
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open ChampionshipCUT
PGA Championship
CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Charles Tour - Carrus Tauranga Open . New Zealand Golf . 4 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130120093823/http://www.golf.co.nz/Tournaments/DashBoard.aspx?CompetitionID=120877 . 20 January 2013 . dead.
  2. News: Golf: Young Kiwis have to settle for second . NZ Herald . 24 March 2010.
  3. Web site: 2011 Srixon Australian Men's Stroke Play Championship . Golf Australia . 4 December 2023.
  4. Web site: Team/Player Leaderboard . Golfstat . 4 December 2023.
  5. Web site: Past Results . Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation . 2018-01-02 . 2018-01-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072501/http://asiapacificgolf.org/past-results/ .
  6. Web site: Ben Campbell has won the 2018 Horizon Golf NZPGA Championship . PGA New Zealand . 4 December 2023.
  7. Web site: Ben Campbell Bio . The Open . 4 December 2023.
  8. News: Ben Campbell wins Hong Kong Open to upstage Cam Smith . The New Zealand Herald . 12 November 2023 . 4 December 2023.
  9. News: Kiwi called up for LIV Golf debut . The New Zealand Herald . 12 April 2024 . 6 April 2024.